jagreehal Design Exploration
Critical rules
NO IMPLEMENTATION WITHOUT DESIGN AGREEMENT FIRST. No production code until the human validates the design.- One question per message; prefer multiple choice when options are known.
- Present 2-3 approaches with trade-offs and a recommendation — never only one option.
- YAGNI ruthlessly. Never silently fill ambiguous requirements.
- Present design in 200-300 word sections; confirm each before continuing.
- Before questioning patterns or writing the doc, read references/process-and-template.md.
Workflow
- Understand context: project state, related code, existing patterns.
- Clarify intent: purpose, constraints, success criteria — one question at a time.
- Explore 2-3 approaches with explicit trade-offs; lead with recommendation.
- Present design in sections (architecture, components, data flow, errors, testing); confirm each.
- Write validated design to
docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-design.md, commit, ask ready for implementation (implementation-planning/git-worktrees).
Resources
- references/process-and-template.md — question patterns, YAGNI, design template. Read during clarification and documentation.
Validation
- Existing state and patterns understood
- Ambiguities clarified one question at a time
- 2-3 approaches with trade-offs and recommendation
- Design covers architecture, components, data flow, errors, testing
- Human approved each section; doc saved and committed
Constraints
- Skip for unambiguous single-file changes, typos, or already-approved designs.
- Related:
implementation-planning,git-worktrees,tdd-workflow.